Confronting Coronavirus

Today we're recapping a very eventful few weeks in the United States' response to Covid-19 with the help of Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch.

This week President Trump caused controversy when he announced he is taking an unproven drug to prevent infection.

Meanwhile the politicisation of the virus response has been exacerbated by a growing feud between Donald Trump and Barack Obama, the former's new attacks on the latter perhaps giving us a taste of what to expect later this year as the election campaign heats up.

The pandemic will remain an unavoidable backdrop for Trump's reelection efforts. But will it move the needle on his support?

Yesterday some retailers reopened in phase one of the easing of lockdown. Conor Pope went out to meet shoppers and see whether their behaviour had changed (and to pick up some lavender and compost). He tells Deirdre Veldon what he saw, and some ways he thinks retail will be different from here on.

The argument for taking 19 private hospitals into public control was clear in late March: to avoid the overrun of our health services with cases of Covid-19, as had happened in Italy. But now with that risk diminished, the decision about what to do next is much less clear-cut. Here we dig into how the deal is working, its shortcomings and the knock-on effects it is having on our imperfect healthcare system.

Martin Wall is The Irish Times industry correspondent.

Professor Sam McConkey has been one of the most prominent communicators of the science behind the pandemic response in Ireland. Here he talks to Irish Times deputy editor Deirdre Veldon about how we will live with Covid-19 in the months and years ahead, affecting how our businesses work, making smaller school class sizes necessary, and creating a new global divide between nations on top of the virus and those where it remains widespread.

Professor McConkey is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the RCSI.

This week the Northern Ireland Executive published plans for easing out of lockdown, going against Boris Johnsons 'Stay Alert' exit strategy. The five stage plan revealed by Stormont is subject to change and will be guided by science and not by the calendar. In today's episode, Deirdre Veldon speaks to Dr Lindsay Broadbent, a virologist at Queens University Belfast about the easing of restrictions, a realistic time frame for a vaccine and the search for a drug treatment for Covid-19.

This week the special committee on Covid-19 met for the first time in the Dáil chamber. Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan and HSE boss Paul Reid will be the first to appear before the committee next week, which was established to consider and take evidence on the State’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. So what issues will they be focusing on over the coming weeks and will they be able to hold power to account? Irish Times parliamentary reporter Marie O’Halloran speaks to Deridre Veldon.

Tourism makes a vital contribution to the Irish economy. It’s a lucrative industry employing over a quarter of a million people, yet in the space of just a few weeks, it has completely collapsed. In today's episode Deidre Veldon speaks to Irish Times Consumer Affairs Editor Conor Pope about the future of Irish tourism. Plus Senior Features Writer Rosita Boland explains the innovative ways businesses in Co. Clare are hoping to keep their industry alive.

On Saturday afternoon, the Minister for Business, Heather Humphreys launched the ‘Return to Work Safety Protocol’ at Government Buildings. It sets out a series of steps employers and their workers must undertake before a workplace reopens, and while it continues to operate. In this conversation with Deirdre Veldon, Ms Humphreys outlines some of the requirements set out in the protocol and what the future of the workplace will look like. The Minister also remains hopeful that some businesses such as hairdressers and pubs will reopen earlier than expected, “if we do well on the figures and manage to reduce the number of people contracting the virus, there is flexibility to allow them to open more quickly”.

There have been a number of conflicting opinions on whether face masks can prevent the spread of coronavirus in the community. In this episode, Deirdre Veldon speaks to Heath editor Paul Cullen and Science and Environment editor Kevin O'Sullivan about the reasons for and against the wearing of masks.

Coronavirus has forced us to change every aspect of our lives including the way we grieve our loved ones. While funerals are still going ahead, under current restrictions, there must be no more than ten people in attendance. We have been asked to end the familiar customs and traditions that help us let go of those we have lost. These days, families say their goodbyes over Facetime and mourners tune in to funeral mass over Zoom. Following an open call, readers of The Irish Times have been sending in their personal experiences of bereavement during this pandemic. In this episode, we invited those who contributed, to share their story.

Contributions from: Berna Brennan, Martin Osbourne, Geraldine Eskinazi, Emma O'Grady, Sarah Judge, Louise O'Connor and Brendan Hayes